Region set for significant growth, despite the bumps

THIS seemingly incoherent series of numbers - 5, 55, 2, 7, 46, 690, 9, 70, 1/3, 26 - is not some secret code. These are the 10 key numbers to understand Asean by. The grouping was established on Aug 8, 1967, by five founding members: Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. Brunei (joined in 1984), Vietnam (1995), Laos (1997), Myanmar (1997) and Cambodia (1999) subsequently made up the current 10 member states.

Contrary to the common misconception, it is not similar to the EU and does not try to be. It works by consensus - the Asean way. There is no central institution such as the European Commission to enforce members' adherence to their commitments. Its aim is to become more integrated as a single market. A major initiative towards this goal is the Asean Economic Community, targeted for completion in 2015.

The region is highly diverse - the difference between GDP per capita in Singapore and Cambodia is 55 times. The region encompasses a broad range of cultures, languages, political systems and demographics. This may explain some of the difficulties in achieving closer integration. The wide economic gap also suggests the need for more integration in order to address income inequality within the region. Diversity is not all negative - Asean gives companies different options for running their operations in the region, assuming closer economic integration.